Is it a dream??????

I started my day with the usual 345am alarm. Everything that I needed was already at the living room prepared the night before. Gloves check, helmet check, running shoes check, short nyorts check, and 2 bottles of Gatorade check!

I know I'm still recovering from my injury but today was a real treat for me. Coach JoAr sent me and SMS last Sunday declaring both Monday and Tuesday as an absolute rest day. (bummer!) no biking, no stairs, not even my elastic band workout isn't permitted. But then he again sent me an SMS yesterday saying that today will be a long run session. WTF!!!!!!! Just reading the SMS make me gulp in fear. I can honestly say that I shivered in fear at that exact moment.

How can I run for an hour, when I can't even run 2 laps at the track. He assured me of his decision and said that I should shrug off all my fears and learn to trust him.

I'm not sure if it was the fear or the excitement, probably both, that made me go really early today. I was at the track quarter before 5am. Did my warm up and stretch when Coach arrived. The route was simple, still packed with lots of hills and sweeping downhill sections. White Plains & Green Meadows was our little playground. I'm not that familiar with the location so I was just following along.

15 minutes had pass..... I can feel my tibial muscle slightly getting sore. But very manageable. Absolutely no pain nor limping on footstrike and push-off. Whew!!! By this time I'm not sure if I was sweating from the run or the intensity of just checking every detail of my run.

30 minutes..... It was the same. Still no pain and still pushing off harder and harder on the hills.

45 minutes...... The flat areas are visible! I'm growing more conscious on every strike. Even running on the flats are possible without pain! This must be a dream! It can't be true! It is! It is!

I can run!!!!!!!

Going back to the track, coach warned me of the steep hill just before the gate entrance. And that its going to be an all out sprint up. As if it was like changing gears on my bike. I did change my stride just before hitting the hill. Leaned just right for a good mid foot strike. Faster RPM with just a slight smaller stride. Just 30 meters before the top I felt my airway literally tightening as I almost drag myself to the top. Nausea, and the constant gagging reflex was hitting me again. I'm glad I made it! I'm glad it was real! This is definitely a sign of a good recovery training. Salamat coach!